2022-01-30 - Offer That One Can't Refuse

It's a cold, quiet evening at the precinct and most of the duty staff have gone home for the day. There's a uniformed officer manning the desk downstairs, who's been instructed to send someone down to escort a 'Ms. Leigh' to the Chief's office on the second floor. Someone who turns out to be armed, of course, and severe looking; a six foot female Sergeant who speaks in two-word sentences as they traverse the sterile halls past two security checks and a break room.

Then there's a quick, sharp rap on the door with the nameplate reading Javier de la Vega, Police Chief, and the Sergeant smiles briefly and departs. "Come in," calls out the familiar voice from inside.

Gabriella doesn't chatter too much when she realizes this is not a chatter time. Her eyes do take in the halls and the area. It's a habit. She has to know all the exits and ways to get in the room as she enters it. "Thank you for the escort." She moves to walk into the the office. "I don't think I've ever seen your office, Javi." She does make sure the door is closed before calling him that and speaking.

The Chief looks up when the door opens, and pauses what the hell ever he's doing. He's actually in uniform, for once; black on black on black, with silver and bronze trim, and a crest at his shoulder boasting the seal of the GHPD. He's shed his radio and a pair of mirrored, prescription sunglasses onto his desk, beside his laptop. Which he presently shuts with a click. The gun and badge remain.

"Javier, or Chief," he corrects somewhat tautly. "This isn't a personal call." There are a couple of uncomfortable looking chairs on the other side of his desk, which he gestures to, before climbing to his feet and putting his back to her for a moment to go fetch something from one of the filing cabinets lining the wall. A sad looking potted cactus sits on the windowsill overlooking the impound lot, and there's a stuffed bear with a Mexican flag wishing him a happy 48th birthday on his desk. "Have a seat."

Gabriella allows her eyes to slide over the items in the office. Her eyes fall on the bear with a bit of interest. However, she quickly smoothes away the smile and nods her head. "Of course." She lowers into one of the uncomfortable seats offered. "Chief it is. I feel like that seems the more professional of the two options." She's probably taking a mental photo of him in full uniform incase she doesn't see it again.

The folder snagged, he sinks back into his chair with a soft grunt, and arranges the contents in front of him into reasonably tidy piles. A drawer of his desk is tugged open, and a pen retrieved, and clicked on. "So. Tell me what you're doing here, Ms. Leigh." He might make a more convincing cop if his arms weren't scrawled in copious amounts of ink, right up to the first knuckle of each finger on his right hand. More at his collarbone; the very edges of some sort of looping script.

Gabriella lofts her brows slowly to that. There is a momentary flare of uncertainty and an underlying anger, but that's not directed at him. "I am here about the application that I put in for the department. As you said, this is not a social visit, Chief." She glances towards the file and then back to him as she waits.

"I'm aware of the application, it's right in front of me," Javier replies with some amusement. "I want to know what you're doing here." Despite his reputation for having a vicious temper, his manner is remarkably steady at the moment. Nothing in him suggests irritation; simply curiosity. Easing back in his chair, he lets his big shoulders slouch slightly as he awaits her reply.

Gabriella is quiet but it takes everything in her to not look like a confused puppy. "I am uncertain of the answer you are looking for. I came in to see you to see if there were any answers to the application I submitted. Why do you think that I'm here?"

"I don't frankly fucking know," Javier replies evenly, dark eyes resting on her face. He clicks the pen off, then on again. "I can't pay you competitively here. You'd do a hell of a lot better in private practise. You and I both know that. You'd be subject to a lot more rules and restrictions that'll make your job harder. You'll be dealing with.." He hitches his chin. Cops. "On a regular basis. Not to mention all the other fucked up shit that goes through here. It's a lose-lose situation. So I'm going to ask you again.. what the fuck are you doing here?"

There is a dawn of realization to her features as she takes that in. "Why do I want to be here not why I am here?" She cants her head a bit. "I went into psychology to help people. I was told I was crazy most of my life and I wanted that not to happen to other people. I could open a private practice and I've toyed with that idea. I am going to offer free services at HOPE for those that need it. I would focus on PTSD and those in trauma sitautions. If that is military or domestic abuse or such. The brain is an interesting thing and I want to help how I can. Here? This is a whole team of people that are dealing in a town full of weird shit and we have to lie in our brains to handle it. As well, I'm pretty good at understanding the minds of those that break laws. I was raised by one. So, I thought perhaps here would be a good place. It would be a good place to help. I don't have a lot of debt. It would pay a wage that I could live comfortably on and I don't have the need to be rich."

"Well, I'm going to be honest. Your references check out. Your background check's spotless. I still need to run a security clearance, but I don't see any red flags coming up there either. I've got no doubt you know your shit, and would probably do good work." He tosses his pen down, and meets her eyes again. "My problem with you, Ms. Leigh, is I don't trust you. And what I need from the people working under me is trust. Tell me what I should do about that."

"That one, Chief. I can't answer." Gabriella offers as she meets his gaze easily. "I believe that you know there is no assurance of anything in life and if there is not trust, no assurances will create that trust." She nods her head to the rest of that though. Her green ones hold his, but she for once closes her mouth.

He returns her gaze steadily for a few long seconds. Then nods once. The papers are collected, and shuffled back into the folder. "I can't offer you the job. What I can offer is an option to hire you on a case by case basis, as an external contractor. You want to help people, there's still plenty of avenues for that. But working directly for the department, it's a different fucking animal. People train their whole career for this and I don't think you know what you'd be getting into."

Gabriella considers him for a long moment. It's clear to see she's turning something over in her mind. "Counter offer." Her eyes hold steady on his without an ounce of anything telling at this moment. "I will take the contract work, with two additional offers. The first, I want to be on call and first responder for the victims of crimes. Let me help them through it too. The second, we review this job assignment again in half a year. Maybe there will be time to grow trust."

Javier's fingertips pause on top of the folder. And then he pushes it to one side, without taking his eyes off her. "I'll accept the second term. The first, you're going to need to explain to me, though. What do you mean by that? We have EMS and first responders on staff already. So if you mean what I think you mean, I can't do that."

Gabriella nods her head. "I don't want to get in the way of EMS or your police work. However, I want to know they are there. I will wait until the EMS does their jobs and your department does their jobs. Then I want to be able to speak to them. I want to be able to coach them through their trauma."

His eyes narrow slightly as he listens. Considers. "Leaning toward no." His eyes sliver with a hint of a smile. "But I'll think about it. Anything else?"

Gabriella tips her head to the side as she watches his eyes narrow. "Not for the moment." She waits and then offers, "Am I dismissed, Chief?"

"Dismissed?" He shakes his head, collects the folder into his left hand, and eases out of his chair and to his feet. "No. You don't work for me. I can't dismiss you." His right hand's offered for her to shake, palm up. "I can thank you for coming in, though, Ms. Leigh, and tell you I'm looking forward to seeing how the next six months go. Sure there'll be plenty of cases we can use your expertise with." The Sergeant from earlier is waiting out in the hall to walk her back down, most likely.

Gabriella extends her hand to shake his. "It's an offer, I just can't refuse." She smiles a bit to that and then comes to her feet. "I look forward to doing business with you."

His grip's warm and firm, though not crushingly overcompensating. A squeeze and single shake before he releases her, and goes to scribble something on the inside of the file folder. "I'll have a badge made up for you by Monday. But you're going to need to get your firearms clearance and training courses completed before you're permitted to sign on to any cases. And so you're aware, those requests all go through me." His dark eyes tick up to her, and then he flips the folder shut, and steps around his desk to open the door for her. "Now you're free to go."

Gabriella smiles towards him. There are times that she just looks so fricken adorable. Kawaii! However, she nods her head. "I understand. Do you want to run through a few rounds at the range beforeI'm trained on it?" This offer is more a personal one than a professional one. "If you do, you know how to reach me." Then she turns to walk out the door. "Thank you for meeting with me."

Does he want to run through a few rounds? "I think that would be your call, Ms. Leigh." Presumably, Javier gets all the practice he needs with that gun of his, after all. Amused, he watches her go. Then shakes his head, and returns to his desk to resume whatever work he was doing before she arrived.